I have taken Vioxx for several years yay me :rolleyes
My doctor said all of the cox inhibitors are now under scrutiny, of which Bextra is one (sorry) check back with your rheumatologist or doctor if that's who prescribed them.

Oh eny, I'm sorry you're having to worry about this now.

I saw an interview on one of the early morning news shows today (12 hours ago, so I forget which one now) with one of the big wigs at Merck (manufacturer of Vioxx) and he was saying that they are of the belief that the side effects of the drug will be reversed, over time, once patients stop taking the medication.

He said they saw an increase in blood pressure among patients taking Vioxx (and that increase let to other cardiovascular problems eventually) but that the patients' blood pressure values returned to baseline once they were taken off the drug.

So I'm very hopeful that you'll be safe and out of danger in the near future.

I'm just bummed for you that perhaps you'll be in pain again.

I took Vioxx myself a few years ago for arthritis pain but it was just too hard on my stomach so I didn't stick with it. I live with the arthritis pain and take aspirin and ibuprofen, and that seems to help.

I have taken Vioxx for several years yay me :rolleyes
My doctor said all of the cox inhibitors are now under scrutiny, of which Bextra is one (sorry) check back with your rheumatologist or doctor if that's who prescribed them.

Sorry eny. That sucks. My mother took DES when she was pregnant with me. It all turned out okay but I remember being scared to death when they first talked about all the potential side effects.

Pom, I saw that same report. He said that once you stop taking the Vioxx, it leaves your system quickly.
I took Bextra for about three months. I was really feeling lousy and thought that was the cause. I stopped it and only take it when I know I'm going to be doing something strenuous like walking eight miles around that island a couple of months ago. I usually just take Aleve when I need something.

I started getting aches and pains...hands when knitting, shoulder, both knees. I got a Q-ray bracelet from an infomercial thinking I would return it before the 30-day trial if it didn't work. Well that was over 2 years ago and I swear by it! You can laugh if you want, but I had very little range of motion in my shoulder and now I'm at 100%. My knee problems a decade old went away, and my hands are perfect. When my mom came out to visit I let her wear it for 2 days and it all came back! I had to take it back from her and she ended up getting one, too. I'm just sayin'...

My Av is Gone

My trouble today is that I just had to euthanize my little avatar this morning. Yesterday morning he started descending into his second episode of congestive heart failure (the first was in July) and I decided that I just couldn't keep putting him through the struggles of that illness 'cause keeping him around would be much more for MY benefit than for his. The illness would kill him eventually by suffocating him, and I simply couldn't sit back and let him endure that.

He was 14 and a half years old and I adored him.

I haven't had him for too long, only a bit more than a year and a half. I got him from a rescue group after his original owner went into a nursing home with Alzheimer's Disease.

He was sick with untreated Cushing's Disease when I got him, he was more than 3 lb. overweight, and his coat was a mess. Over time, with me, he took a lot of walks and lost the excess weight, he got on the right medicine for his Cushing's and so his coat came back, and he went on a lot of adventures throughout New England.

I admit that I went into my relationship with my eyes wide open -- I knew he was already an elderly dog and that my time with him would be limited. So I'm trying hard to focus, today, on what a great and enjoyable last year and a half of life he had with us, and I'm trying to be happy about that.

It helps to have been telling myself to be grateful for any time with him that I had, 'cause he seems to have been living on "borrowed time" since the day I got him. It does help to look at things that way.

He's the 14th dog that I've owned over the years and he's the 13th one I've lost (plus a bunch of kitties) so I tell myself that I'm pretty good about dealing with the reality of their deaths and I know that I'll be okay in time.

But I'm bummed for now, and I had to vent. I know it'll get better. We now have a "vacancy" at the house and we'll find a new little Pomeranian who needs a home as much as my av did.

And he'll live on here in the FORT where he'll always be my avatar, so that will make me feel better to see his smiling face whenever I come in here.

I live alone and didn't have anyone I could vent to about this loss today, so thanks for letting me post this here.

Oh Pom -
I'm so sorry to hear about this. You have my sympathy.
I don't know what I would do without my dog - he's become my constant companion.
Hope you find a sweet little POM who fills the void soon.

I am so sad about this. He was such a sweetie. I'm so happy for him that he seemed to have a good life. He must have been lost when his owner had to go away and thankfully you were there to take over.
I agree with you that it would be too much to bring him back for another episode, and then another. That would have been for your benefit and not his. For what my opinion is worth, you did the right thing.
Do something nice for yourself today in his honor.
Love you.